Hay-carrier and track



(No Model.)

J. E. PORTER. HAY GARRIBR AND TRACK.

J71 v e ni'o 7':

7/2151 asses.-

a f g UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE.

JOSEPH E. PORTER, OF OTTAW'A, ILLINOIS.

HAY-CARRIER AND TRACK.

SPECIFICATION Forming part of Letters Patent No. 482,412, datedSeptember 13, 1892.

Application filed February 29, 1892. Serial No. 423,129. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOSEPH E. PORTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Ottawa, in the county of La Salle and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hay-Carriers and Tracks,of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in hay-carriers and tracks. Inthe prevailing construction of these devices the track is provided witha stop for locking the carrier in position at the loading-point only. Asheretofore constructed the tracks have also been provided with stopsadapted both to lock the carrier to the track and to release the fork orfall whenever the carrier comes in contact with such devices, and so faras my knowledge extends the carriers have not been so constructed as tobe capable of passing these stops without being operated thereby. It isfrequently desirable, however, to move the carrier from end to end ofits track and to load at different points, and hence it will be seenthat if the stops are not properly located for the work in hand theymust be transferred to the proper points, and as these points arecontinually changing the stops are apt to need frequent removals.

In my present invention I have sought to provide the track with stopswhich will permit the carrier to move by them without engagement, sothat the carrier may be moved in either direction and from one end ofthe track to the other, if necessary, without en gaging with or beingaffected in any way by the stops which it passes en route. This featureenables me to employ any number of stops upon the track required bycircumstances or convenience. My carrier is also provided with meanswhereby it may be stopped at will when it reaches any one of these stopsand the fork be lowered for loading.

The in vention consists in the combination, with the track and itsstops, of a carrier provided with means adapted to engage the trackstopsand to be thrown into such engagement at will.

The invention further consists in the combination of a track providedwith stops adapted to permit the passage of the carrier withoutinterference, a carrier having a movable catch adapted to engage saidstops, and a device operable at will for throwing said catch intoengagement with the stops.

The invention further consists in the combination of the track providedwith stops with a carrier having a movable catch adapted to engage saidstops, a device for throwing said catch into engagement with said stopsat will, and a fall also adapted to throw said catch out of engagementwhen the fork is drawn up preparatory to transferring it to the point ofunloading.

The invention further consists in the novel features of construction andthe novel combinations of parts hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings, I show at Figure 1 a side elevation of my improvedtrack and carrier, one of the side plates of the carrier being omittedto show the internal construction. Fig. 2 is a similar view showing theparts in different positions, and Fig. 3 is a perspective of one of thetrack-stops.

In said drawings, A represents the carriertrack constructed of I-railsin the customary manner and supporting the'carrier upon itsbase-flanges. The carrier has the usual rollersB traveling upon theflanges of the trackrails and connected to the carrier by arms 12. Thebody of the carrier is formed in the usual manner of two parallel plates0, of which one only is shown. Between these plates are supported therope pulleys c, the pivoted hook D, and the sliding catch E. A verticalpassage F, funnel-shaped at its lower end, admits the upper extension ofthe fall G, as it is sometimes termed, to which the hay-fork is hooked.

The track-stops are applied to the base of the track-rails and consistof pieces of thin metal H, hooked over so as to grasp both the baseflanges of the rails and to conform as closely as may be to the upper ortread surface thereof. I make these parts of thin metal in orderthat noinjurious unevenness may be formed thereby in the path of thecarrierrollers. The parts H are either appropriately secured to blocks 1by riveting, soldering, casting, or otherwise; or they may be providedwith downwardly-extending flanges h, which may be clamped between theblocks I with such firmness as to retain them in position. The blocks Igive the rigidity necessary, and being cut away at their under surfacesthey are adapted to act as stops to the carrier. I

make the stops in two parts, as shown at Fig. 3, so that they may be puttogether at the time of application to the track and clamped thereon bythe screws or rivets 1'. These screws or rivets should create suchfriction upon the track as will prevent the stop from sliding along thetrack, or in lieu thereof extraneous means may be employed to preventsuch sliding. I find, however, that the stops when clamped by the screwsor bolts 2 are rendered sufficiently firm without weakening the tracksby boring through them or cutting away the metal or attaching them inany such manner as will prevent or render laborious the moving of thestops from one position to another.

The fall-block G when it lifts the hook D allows the catch E to fallfrom the position given at Fig. 2 to that shown at Fig. 1, the formerposition being one in which the carrier is locked and the latter one inwhich the carrier is released.

To bring about the locking of the carrier, I provide it with specialmeans for the purpose of moving the catch to the locking position. Thesemeans consist of a lever M, passing through an opening (shown by brokenlines) in the catch, and a cord m, attached to the end of the lever andextending down to within reach of the attendant. The lever is fulcrumedupon the cross-bar 0, so that when the cord is drawing the interior endof the lever will be lifted, and with it the catch. The lever M is heldin position by lugs 19 at either side of said crossbar or in some othersuitable way. By reason of the presence in the carrier of means forlifting the catch at will I am enabled to stop the carrier at any one ofthe track-stops desired, passing any intermediate stops at which it isnot desired to load without dropping the fork or in any way affectingthe carrier.

K is the rope for lifting the fork.

This being the construction of the parts, their operation is as follows:Supposing the parts to be in the position shown at Fig. 2 that is to say,with the catch E in looking engagement with the track-stopthe horseattached to the rope K being now started draws upon said rope and raisesthe fork until the upper end of the fall enters the passage F and liftsthe hook D to the position shown at Fig. 1. This results in the droppingof the catch E from its engagement with the trackstop and also theengagement by the hook D with the fall, as shown in Fig. 1, so that thefall and its load, if any, is retained in the elevated position to whichit has been raised. The look now being released, the carrier is movedalong the track to the point where the load is to be dropped. The loadis now released and the carrier is started back for a fresh load. Inreturning it passes all stops on the track until it reaches the point onthe track where the operator wishes to reload. He then pulls on the cordto operate the catchlever and locks the carrier, and in so doing causesthe dropping of the fork. In both movements of the carrier it will benoticed that it can move freely to the extremes of the track withoutinterference, regardless of any intermediate stops upon the track. Whenconstructed in the manner shown, these stops are readily movable fromone place to another upon the track; but byemploying a number of themsufficient for the work I avoid making numerous changes in the positionof the stops.

It will be seen that I have omitted from the track the cams heretoforeused for lifting the catch into operative position and substitutedtherefor a device which is operable at will and which is consequentlymore desirable than the previous construction, because it enables thecarrier to be moved past the track-stops without being locked thereto.

I claim 1. In a hay-carrier, the combination of a track provided with aseries of positive shoulders or stops, a carriage mounted on said trackand adapted to travel thereon past said stops, hoisting devices mountedon said carriage, a vertically-sliding bolt or catch E on and movablewith said carriage and adapted to engage any of said stops, an operatingdevice or cord connected with said catch and independent of the hoistingdevices, and a support for said catch, operated by the hoisting devices,whereby the carriage is released by the hoisting of the load and may becaused to pass the intermediate stops of the said series or to engageany one of said stops and be locked in place at will irrespective of thehoisting devices, substantially as set forth.

2. In a hay-carrier, the combination of a track provided with shouldersor stops, a carriage mounted and adapted to travel thereon,

a hoisting-rope supported by said carriage, a fall-block G, carried andoperated by therope, a hook on the carriage, adapted to engage andsupport the fall-block, a catch E, engaging the hook to sustain and lockit in its supporting position and movable away from said hook and intothe path of the said stops on the track, and means, such as a cord, foroperating the catch, substantially as set forth.

3. In a hay-carrier, the combination of a track provided with shouldersor stops, a carriage mounted and adapted to travel thereon, ahoisting-rope supported by said carriage, a fall-block G, carried andoperated by the rope, a hook on the carriage, adapted in one position toengage and'support the fall-block and in another position to support acatch, the said catch or bolt adapted to engage the said hook to sustainand lock it in its first-mentioned position and movable away from saidhook and into the path of the said stop on the track, and means, such asa cord, for operating the catch, substantially as set forth.

4. In a hay-carrier, the combination, with a track provided with stops,of a carriage thereon, a hoisting-rope and fall-block on the carriage, ahook adapted to support said fallsupporting track-flanges and permit thefree passage of the wheels and having vertical downwardly-extendingflanges h, rigid stopplates 1, situated outside of the latter flanges,and means for forcing the stop-plates together to cause the plates H toclamp the rail, substantially as set forth.

JOSEPH E. PORTER. Witnesses:

EDWARD S. EVARTS, H. M. MUNDAY.

